WMU College of Engineering and Applied Sciences

Faculty spotlight 💫 Meet Dr. Ilgin Acar, assistant professor of industrial and entrepreneurial engineering and engineering management!

Acar's research centers around developing on-campus patrolling using drones, with the goal of improving safety in campus-like settings by expanding surveillance coverage, with an emphasis on events such as graduation, homecoming and other large gatherings.

Acar's favorite part of her job? Her students, of course!

"I love helping students develop their industrial engineering skills, and in return, I learn from them too," says Acar. "Especially here in the U.S., interacting with students helps me stay connected with new perspectives and the younger generation."

Something many people might not know about Acar is her love of sweets and sports. She loves watching volleyball, soccer and basketball, and is always up for talking about a big game or match.

"Outside of work, I love cooking and baking," says Acar. "I’m especially good at Turkish cuisine and desserts; some of my friends even call me the 'Dessert Queen.'"

Congratulations, Sunseeker Solar Car Project! ☀️🙌

Sunseeker Solar Car | WMU has arrived to the finish in Amarillo, TX! ☀️

Congratulations on completing the Electrek American Solar Challenge 2026!

It's the middle of summer, and Floyd Hall is feeling empty without the sounds of its students. Engineering and applied sciences students, we can't wait to have you back! 😋

Way to go, Sunseeker Solar Car Project!

Sunseeker from Western Michigan is the third team to pass scrutineering! They will start in P3 tomorrow at the Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix 2026. 🔥

Congratulations, team!

An advancement co-developed by an international research team, including Dr. Mert Atilhan, professor of chemical and paper engineering at WMU, is gaining international attention for its potential to transform waste into clean energy!

Research published in Science, one of the world’s leading scientific journals, highlights a new industrial catalyst developed by an international team of researchers, including Dr. Atilhan. The promising new catalyst converts emissions into a renewable energy source used to manufacture fuels, fertilizers, plastics and chemicals.

“The ultimate goal is to create a sustainable, circular carbon economy on a massive, gigaton scale,” says Atilhan. “This means constantly upcycling greenhouse gases and municipal waste directly into zero-carbon fuels and essential chemicals, effectively reducing global emissions without having to completely overhaul the world’s existing fuel infrastructure.”

To learn more about this research, visit https://wmich.edu/engineer/news/2026/07/professor-breakthrough-technology

Space exploration is continuously becoming more competitive across the world. A 2025 United States Space Force (USSF) award of $34.9 million dollars to WMU and eight other universities embraces that competition.

The award's goal is to aid in the creation of the Space Power and Propulsion for Agility, Responsiveness and Resilience (SPAR) Institute, led by the University of Michigan, for developing novel power and propulsion technologies. This five-year collaboration also includes 14 industry partners and advisors.

"The institute will demonstrate prototypes for universal, modular systems enabled by an innovative, ultra-compact method for nuclear power generation and a novel technique for highly throttleable, multi-mode (electric and chemical) propulsion,” says Dr. Kristina Lemmer, WMU professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and a lead on the project.

To read more about the new SPAR Institute, visit https://wmich.edu/engineer/news/2025/01/spar-institute

We'd like to offer a big thank you to Dr. Steve Carr, professor of computer science, for his years of service as associate dean for graduate programs and research! Today marks his last day in the role and we wish him nothing but the best moving forward. Thank you for everything, Dr. Carr!